Banning Transgender Soldiers Will Damage National Security
“Who is a Homo?” ponders an internal CIA document written in 1980 to help investigators identify and purge gay CIA officers. “The homosexual is a […]
Opinion
Why Intelligence Matters
Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell is debuting season two of his popular podcast ‘Intelligence Matters’ in partnership with CBS News this week. The Cipher […]
With Influence Activities Exposed, the Kremlin Acts Even More Boldly
Russian influence operations were thrust into the public limelight in the West in 2017 with the findings of the U.S. Intelligence Community that Russia did […]
How the U.S. Can Fight for Tokyo Too with Kim Jong Un
Within moments of greeting President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in mid-April, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe clinched a key strategic objective for their meeting: a […]
Iran’s “Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, Make Counter-Accusations” Tour
At the time of this writing, Iran’s avuncular Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is about to conclude a six-day visit to New York during which he […]
Standing Firm on Denuclearization with Kim Jong Un
Getting North Korea to agree to the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons facilities will be a difficult task […]
Beating Moscow at its Main Game: Espionage
We talk a lot these days about smart power and hard power and soft power even the sharp power of manipulating information. In the end, […]
The OSS, 9/11 & Gina Haspel: Intelligence Under Fire
Just weeks after the attacks of 9/11, a flatbed truck was parked unceremoniously in the tree-lined fire lane next to the CIA’s New Headquarters Building, […]
How to Run a Cyber War…Game
The Cipher Brief hosted its second annual threat conference at beautiful Cloister Resort on Sea Island, Ga., this month. While there, Dmitri Alperovitch and I […]
What if the Insider Threat Is You?
Sometimes we’re the threat, whether to ourselves or others, without even realizing it. Insider threats trace back to humans, thus, it’s at our own peril […]
Don’t Expect Change from Cuba’s New President
It’s very interesting that today will be the first time in almost 60 years that one of the Castro brothers has not been president of […]
How Moscow May Have Influenced Our Elections – And Is Poised to Do It Again
During the leadup to the 2016 presidential elections, Russia bots, trolls and media outlets such as RT and Sputnik were actively messaging about the political […]
In Defense of the FBI – and Comey – from One of their Own
Like some of you, perhaps, I have spent an inordinate amount of time consumed with the revelations about the latest tweet, or twist in the […]
CTIIC’s Role in Keeping America Safe in Cyber
One day last May, employees of Britain’s health service logged on to their computers to find a startling discovery: their data had been encrypted, rendering […]
Pull Troops Out of Syria? Trump Has a Point
President Donald Trump is considering launching air strikes on Syria, if his own tweets are to be believed – an action that could show the […]
President Trump, Remove Assad From Power, or You’re Just Like Obama
In response to the “barbaric” chemical attack by the “animal” Assad on Douma, a suburb of Damascus, over the weekend, President Donald Trump has promised […]
Cyber Threat Intelligence: “The Government Doesn’t Have a Monopoly”
Much as intelligence stovepiping challenged U.S. defenses against terrorism in the lead up to 9/11, it is also an ongoing problem within the U.S. government’s […]
CIA Nominee Haspel’s History of “Taking the Tough Jobs”
To the distinguished ladies and gentlemen on Capitol Hill: You are poised to make one of the most critical decisions this term by voting on […]